Why “Cirque du Soleil Beatles LOVE” will remind you of the love in your life
Check out "Cirque du Soleil's Beatles LOVE" Before Closing in July 2024
Hey folks, I’m changing up my humanistic game design angle for a bit on this entry. I wanted to write a review of a very fun show that I got to see on my vacation to Las Vegas this past November, and I highly recommend you go see it, because it’s CLOSING PERMANENTLY in July.
As a game designer, non-games works can be incredibly inspiring, and even Beatles LOVE integrates interactive elements with the audience as well. (I’ll likely write another article about my experiences with immersive theater experience Sleep No More as well, but I digress.)
Part review, part business analysis, part design analysis, part personal essay, it’s a look at Beatles LOVE from many angles.
As the performer says in the opening, “Good evening one and all, and welcome to the Beatles LOVE!”
All You Need is Love
It’s Cirque du Soleil, it’s the Beatles discography remixed, its like one long trippy music video come to life.
I recommend checking it out, especially because it’s going to close soon, by July. My opinion is based on watching it this past November 2023, and having watched lots of Cirque du Soleil shows. I’ve watched Beatles, O, Mystere, Zarkana (when it was in NYC, before it moved to Las Vegas then closed), Ovo, Twas the Night Before, and even ice skating show Crystal. This was one of the best in Las Vegas, and one of the best overall.
Take a Sad Song and Make it Better - Why Is it closing?
On April 10, 2024, Cirque du Soleil is announcing the final performance will be July 7, 2024. Since then, they’ve announced performances Tuesday to Saturday til July 6th, 2024.
Why is that though?
Hard Rock Hotel is expanding from the other side of the Strip and is going replace The Mirage, they are not renewing Beatles LOVE as it stands. The Mirage was the first of the megahotels, and Beatles while classic, has an aging fanbase. So, a kitschy restaurant turned hotel turned casino chain is choosing to not to renew their contract, after an 18 year run.
Keep reading/watching after the jump because I put a lot of work into this and I don’t get paid! (Please subscribe!)
A Crowd of People Stood and Stared
What is Cirque du Soleil and Beatles LOVE?
Cirque du Soleil means “Circus of the Sun” in French. Started in Montreal, the creators took the energy of circus performances and modernized it with contemporary circus stylings from Europe. Slowly, they experimented with finding a formula to tailor the European artistic stylings towards an American audience. Touring shows like Alegria were a hit, culminating in Mystere, the first Cirque show to not tour and have a theater in Las Vegas at the Treasure Island, followed by O, a water based show at the Bellagio, (a world class show in itself and my favorite of the lot). Both of these were directed by Franco Dragone. As these and other shows were taking off, this led them to collaborate with the Beatles.
As the story goes, friends Guy de Laliberte (Cirque du Soleil) and Paul McCartney were hanging in one of their home gardens and they got to talking, why not do a show of The Beatles?
They soon got buy-in from the rest of the Beatles and their estates and they got the show rolling.
This was the first Cirque du Soleil show with a prerecorded and licensed soundtrack instead of live, original music. A jukebox show of sorts.
The show takes you through the discography of The Beatles in a general chronological order, kicking things off with a slow burn of Because. Then going from the Blitz, to the British postwar period, to The Beatles Boy Band era, to their psychedelic era, to their later stage meditations before their eventual breakup, before concluding with some good vibes. But there there will be plenty of remixes, mashups, and surprises that will tickle Beatlemaniacs along the way.
The show ranges from
funky routines based on Drive My Car, Lady Madonna.
Trippy numbers- For the Benefit of Mr. Kite, Gnik Nus, Within You Without You / Tomorrow Never Knows.
High flying acrobatics like rollerskating in Help!
And some somber interpretive dance and aerialist routines like Something, Blackbird, Hey Jude, and While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
And fun crowd pleasers like Ringo Starr’s Octopus’s Garden, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.
It has a higher dancing to acrobatics ratio than other Cirque shows, although it definitely has their fair share.
In general, a feast for the eyes and ears with tons of trippy visuals, costumes, acting, props with 60 performers ready to rock and roll. And in terms of interaction, it’s a show that comes out from the stage and into the audience, with some light interaction in the pre-show, and special delights during the show coming in and out of the arena, even in front, above, and behind you as you sit in the audience. (But yes, they are a mainstream show, they do respect your boundaries, just using lots of colors in the process.)
Taking place in a custom built 360º circular theater where the stage is in the center of the crowd, the performers enter from all different angles, and the max distance from the center of the auditorium is said to be less than 100 feet. As such, there isn’t really a bad seat in the house. Admittedly it can be hard to see what’s on the side of the auditorium on the far side from you, but the choreographers design the performances to always have something interesting to look at no matter where you are in the theater.
💡 Money can’t buy me Love: They said it cost them $100 million to build the custom theater. Did they make a profit? Let’s do a back of the napkin estimate! Let’s say the theater fits something like 1000+ people on an average night on the low side, lets say they run 300+ performances a year (probably on the low side because they often do two performances a night), and tickets can be about $80+, that adds up to about $24 million revenues a year. Having run for 18 years, that’s about $432 million+ lifetime revenue. Even with costs of performances, staff, props, engineering, promotion, let’s say costs is about half (that’s probably high), so on the low side that adds up to $216 million in profit? (How much was licensing from The Beatles though, hmm…?) And not counting concessions, alcohol, gift shop sales, soundtrack sales, and of course, sales, revenue for the casino, neighboring casinos, and local Las Vegas business and taxes. Overall, it’s quite a boon for the local economy! Not to mention Beatles music sales!
Characters from the world of Beatles discography are brought to life in Cirque du Soleil fashion with bombastic costumes and acting. You might recognize the names of Sgt. Pepper, Father McKenzie, Eleanor Rigby, The Eggman, The Fool, Lucy in the Sky, Jude and plenty more. It’s fun to see how many you can recognize.
The soundtrack is directed by George Martin, producer of nearly all the Beatles original discography and known by some as the fifth Beatle; and son Giles Martin, who felt intimidated, but felt confident to proceed after blessings from his father. It’s fully available on Youtube along with plenty of Beatlemaniac commenters pointing out the layers upon layers of references. It’s worth listening to on its own.
Playlist for Cirque du Soleil Beatles Love Soundtrack
Love me do
It’s a show that’s mainstream and accessible but also countercultural and emotive, like how Cirque du Soleil and The Beatles can be at their best, a bit of subversion and expression for the mainstream crowd. In general, the whole show’s kinetic, frenetic, unabashed energy makes you smile, makes you tear up, and is a real trip (even if you’re not on substances).
It was a nice show to watch with family as well. On the 3rd day of our trip in Vegas, my brother my dad and I woke up early, still shaking off our East Coast internal clocks, and drove the scenic route of Red Rock Canyon National Park. There was a good amount of moisture in the air on the November day, so unlike moments where our family had seen it in the past, the high mountain peaks tinged red with rusted iron particles were contrasted with the ballet of light white fluffy cloud movements. It was a crisp Nevada perfect morning, to get away from the bustle of the city.
After getting on each other’s nerves for lunch, we ended up making up after arriving to the lobby of The Mirage for our visit.
And it made for a nice high water moment overall for our trip.
💡 Protip: If you want to get free parking, stay at the Treasure Island, and take the tram to neighboring The Mirage. Just say to the parking staff that you’re there to visit the shops and play in the casinos. And buy something! They tended to be relaxed when we went.
I personally felt a bit of catharsis when hearing “Hear Comes the Sun” thinking of how we’re getting through those tough times from pandemic. It also reminded me of an ex who used to sing that to me. I’d be visiting her and while sleeping in, she’d open the blinds and sweetly sing “Here comes the Sun”. I’d just want to close the covers over me to get more shuteye. What a fool on a hill!
Another lover, who would troll me by incorrectly singing the lyrics “All the Lonely Beatles” on purpose. I wanted to correct her so badly but that would be feeding into it.
Nowadays, I wish I could see either of them again to see how they’re doing and apologize for mistakes I’ve made.
And I’m sure with music as iconic, many of y’all will associate nice memories with The Beatles as well.
I was humming and listening to Beatles music for weeks after watching, reminiscing on memories like this, and there is plenty for folks to obsess about.
Helter Skelter
There were some hiccups as there will be with a fast moving live performance, as we saw during A Day in the Life, but often times that makes the stunts seem more realistic and have real stakes. Maybe it was also because the show was out of practice from returning from COVID, or that we caught it as a matinee during the F1 Grand Prix.
I also felt a large tonal clash after the end of Blackbird as it clearly comments on Civil Rights when it feels rudely interrupted by a clown bit where it plays a raven, but maybe that’s because they wanted to lighten the mood for some kids and older folks.
And the song Lady Madonna was inspired by The Beatles interest in working class Irish Catholic single mothers in Liverpool, but it did feel a little off how they turned it into an upbeat dance number with floor projections. That being said, the line is hard to balance with The Beatles’ imagery and upbeat music.
On that, there have been two iterations of the show, this is its second iteration, and the Blackbird performance has been retooled from last time. What was it like before? No idea, but I’m very curious. Let me know in the comments if you know.
People do have valid criticisms of The Beatles. They’re less relevant. They could have given more credit to their predecessors. And why did they have so much success with rock and roll being white, when there were plenty of black musicians before them? They also can be known to have a regressive toxic boomer fanbase.
But they were also countercultural figures that believed in civil rights during the 1960s. And while starting off as a young and soon incredibly successful boy band, they continued to challenge themselves to evolve into the next versions of themselves, as musicians, as a group, and as individuals, eventually leading to their breakup. And there’s no denying their footprint on rock, pop music, and culture at large, even as they’re waning from the public’s mindshare.
And lots of artists were on all kinds of substances in that time period. In fact, the first time I drank alcohol was tied to The Beatles.
I was a high schooler at a friend’s house party in Harlem and after I downed my first ever shots of beer, I had zero tolerance. I don’t even remember getting buzzed, but found myself feeling sick and throwing up in their kitchen sink. When a friend asked if I was okay, I sang “Whisper words of wisdom. Let it Be.” They had a soft chuckle and soon left me to my own devices. Slowly, I realized I didn’t see any of my friends at the party. I tried calling them and couldn’t hear a clear answer on my flip phone over the noisy crowd and my haze of confusion. I thought someone said McDonald’s so I walked my way down the block, hoping I wouldn’t get noticed as a totally blitzed and/or sick looking Asian teenager in Harlem.
Someone called, and they asked who I was with. Without a better answer, I said “I dunno, a bunch of Harlem people?” Probably a couple decibels too loudly.
Eventually, we got a car ride home from someone’s Chinese dad. I started saying expressions in Mandarin like the Chinese zodiac in a bizarre effort to appear like I was a chill dude, when in fact, I was not. A good friend was in the car with me, Jasper, who was always patient with my antics since high school, told me to chill out.
So, what I’m trying to say is, when you’re on that many substances, maybe you don’t make the most 100% best decisions. Just hope that you’re balanced out by some positive influences in your life, like your bandmates, or your good friends.
Plus, even with all their criticisms, The Beatles were able to create one of the most catchiest and awe inspiring bodies of music, which I and many others have come nowhere close to for our brushes with substances.
Yesterday
The movie Yesterday is about one man who finds himself in a situation that feels like a bad trip. He finds himself in a world where The Beatles never existed, and he’s the one musician in the world to remember, slowly rocketing to himself to stardom, while learning about how the world would’ve been different. It’s an interesting look at one music group’s collective impact on the world. I watched the film with coworkers at my old job at a public option health plan company in New York City’s financial district. It was a time in my life when I was thinking about what my cultural legacy would be. What would the world be like if I never existed? What if I spent the rest of my life developing training modules for corporate compliance? Shortly after that, I accepted an offer to attend NYU Game Center’s MFA program. The musical legacy of The Beatles must’ve lingered in my subconscious somewhere as I booked the tickets to Beatles LOVE on our trip to Vegas 2 years after my graduating grad school, in the post-pandemic world.
Hello, Goodbye
As a show, it’s a pretty good starting point for watching Cirque du Soleil because it’s pretty accessible, and it’s one of their higher quality shows (I’ve watched a good number, and it’s proved by their long residency). It also can be part of your trip chilling in Las Vegas. You can watch other resident Cirque shows, like the world class O at Bellagio. We also went to The Sphere to watch one of the inaugural resident shows Postcard from Earth by Darren Aronofsky on this trip. That was also worth the watch, asking questions about (capital-H) Humanity’s legacy on planet Earth. (Another video and article will come out for that. Please subscribe to follow with that!)
As of writing this, Beatles Love is performing Tuesday to Saturday closing on July 6 2024 (a little over two months!), so catch it soon! I’ve watched many Cirque du Soleil shows. This was one of the best and I’m sad I didn’t get to see it more. I highly recommend it.
It’s a big shame since I believe this was the first Cirque du Soleil show based on an existing IP and had such big success. Michael Jackson’s One, Avatar Toruk (yes, based on the James Cameron movie), and Disney’s Drawn to Life followed but have had some mixed reception. Even ice skating show Crystal used covers of Sia’s Chandelier, and Beyonce’s Halo. (Crystal’s Halo routine was a highlight though.) Furthermore, after suspending operations from COVID, they have been increasingly owned by private equity firms, so the ending of Beatles LOVE feels like another chapter closing in a previous era of Cirque. C’est la vie.
Tickets can be pretty cheap as far as Cirque shows go, in the $80-90 range but that may obviously change during its final run. And you might stack a promo or use an employee or alumni discount such as Working Advantage.
Who knows? If you’re a hardcore Beatlemaniac, you might actually see Ringo or Paul as this YouTube video did?
Meh, I wouldn’t count on it.
Remember to pay respects to the John and George memorials though and stop through the gift shop to have a souvenir to remember the show by.
Performances for Cirque du Soleil’s Beatles Love are 1 hr 30 mins, no intermission. And parts that require performers to enter the audience area have ushers temporarily restrict audience movement for a short duration (no more than a few minutes at a time). Some parts have sensory warnings for flashing lights. According to these Trip Advisor threads, Cirque can be accommodating for accessibility issues, but call the The Mirage Box Office to be sure.
Buy tickets here:
https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/beatles-love
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This is an article originally written for my Substack, and will be uploaded as a YouTube video.
If you want more about my trip to Las Vegas, check out:
My full writeup of my Las Vegas Substack - 5 min read
Las Vegas Vlog Day 3 - 5 mins
Full VOD podcast stream on our Las Vegas Trip (3 hours, skim around)
If you want to be inoculated to the appeal of Gambling, check out my Video Essay on The Psychology, Design, and Economics of Gambling Addiction - 16 mins
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